Sam Totman
Lead/Rhythm Guitars & Backing Vocals Ian Samuel Totman (born April 26, 1974 in London, UK), better known by his stage name Sam Totman, is a guitarist who plays lead and rhythm guitar for the power metal band DragonForce. Totman was born in England, but moved to New Zealand at an early age. He began playing classical guitar at the age of nine, receiving formal training for many years. He took part in three bands of very different styles before joining DragonForce. Totman is the writer of many of the songs from DragonForce. He was also in a band called Demoniac which featured his future DragonForce guitar partner Herman Li. During his time with Demoniac, Sam was usually referred to as "Heimdall" (Norse God of vigilance). Demoniac struggled to make any real progress at all despite releasing three albums and re-locating to London. Due to this, Demoniac split sometime in late 1999, shortly after the album The Fire and the Wind was released. Most of the members went on to form power metal band DragonHeart, which later became known as DragonForce. Keyboardist Steve Williams and bassist Steve Scott left DragonHeart to form Power Quest with whom Totman recorded on their demo and first album, Wings of Forever. Totman also provided guest instrumentation on the band's following album, Neverworld. Totman is the primary songwriter of DragonForce, writing both music and lyrics for a majority of their discography. Totman is also known for his energetic live performances, as he usually pulls off several "stunts". With three metal albums of different styles under his sleeves before DragonForce, Sam is an experienced professional...or is he? Yes, but more from the drinking, partying side of metal! Born in England but moved to New Zealand at an early age, Sam started playing the classical guitar at the age of 9 with formal musical training. A great guitar player with plenty of feelings in both rhythm and leads, complement his remarkable ability in writing extremely catchy songs; a perfect combination! The combination of Sam & Herman, two very different guitar players joining forces in DragonForce, is causing quite a stir in the modern metal scene. Watch out for their hyperactive performances, taking the live stage to another level. Notable Awards/Achievements :*Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2009 – Best Shredder Award :*Grammy Awards 2008 – Best Metal Performance “DragonForce” Nomination :*Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best New Talent (winning by 70%) :*Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Metal :*Guitar World Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Riff :*Total Guitar Reader’s Poll 2007 – Best Solo “Through the Fire and Flames” :*Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Band “DragonForce” :*Terrorizer Reader’s Poll 2006 – Best Live Act “DragonForce” Musical Influences Catchiest bands on the planet only! Late 80's, early 90's video games music! Signature Stage Moves 360 degree tornado jump (Tornado Split Jump) Hands free booze drinking Acting ***! Main Live Equipment Lots of Booze Drink Holders Guitars :*Ibanez STM1 - Sam Totman Signature Model - DiMarzio® Evolution Pickups- DiMarzio® HLM Pickups :*DiMarzio Evolution Pickups :*DiMarzio HLM Pickups Amplifications, Rig Setup & Misc Anything Herman recommends! Gallery Sam Totman01.jpg|Sammy-sam. Spirit-of-metal-sam-totman-12859.jpg|Sam. HeimdallTotman.jpg|Totman again. Samherman.jpg|Sam and Herman solo-ing. External Links/References :*Sam Totman at DragonForce.com Category:Members Category:Founding Members